Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ in statements with negative meaning to indicate that a place does not exist.
I haven’t got ~ to live...
There had never been such a beautiful woman ~ in the world.
ADV: ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV cl/group
2.
You use ~ in questions and conditional clauses to ask or talk about a place without saying exactly where you mean.
Did you try to get help from ~?...
If she wanted to go ~ at all she had to wait for her father to drive her.
ADV: ADV after v, be ADV, from ADV, oft ADV cl/group
3.
You use ~ before words that indicate the kind of place you are talking about.
He’ll meet you ~ you want...
Let us know if you come across ~ that has something special to offer.
= anyplace
ADV: ADV cl/group
4.
You use ~ to refer to a place when you are emphasizing that it could be any of a large number of places.
Rachel would have known Julia Stone ~.
...jokes that are so funny they always work ~.
ADV: ADV after v, be ADV emphasis
5.
When you do not want to be exact, you use ~ to refer to a particular range of things.
His shoes cost ~ from $200 up...
My visits lasted ~ from three weeks to two months.
ADV: ADV from/to n, ADV between pl-n, ADV up
6.
You use ~ in expressions such as ~ near and ~ close to to emphasize a statement that you are making.
There weren’t ~ near enough empty boxes...
ADV: ADV adj/adv emphasis
7.
If you say that someone or something is not getting ~ or is not going ~, you mean that they are not making progress or achieving a satisfactory result.
The conversation did not seem to be getting ~...
PHRASE: V inflects